


Kairos

by HoneytheQueenBee



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Rating Might Change, i just don't want anyone caught off guard, i just want the nerds to kiss, my editor told me this was cute, some implied past non-con, there will be more couples later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-19 10:08:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29748891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HoneytheQueenBee/pseuds/HoneytheQueenBee
Summary: There's a time for everything and everything happens at the right time.Even if some people's timing is better (and some people's are worse) than other's...April thinks she's finally got her timing right...
Relationships: Donatello/April O'Neil (TMNT), Karai/Leonardo (TMNT), Mona Lisa/Raphael (TMNT)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 27





	1. Everything Becomes Beautiful

**Author's Note:**

> kairos (Greek, noun) - the perfect, delicate, crucial moment; the fleeting rightness of time and place that creates the opportune atmosphere for action, words, or movement.
> 
> * my editor want to call this "Kiss and Shell" (I said no).
> 
> 8888888888

April wasn’t sure what she hated more at this moment: classes or men. Specifically, she hated college classes and college men.  
She’d made the horrible mistake of joining a friend group when she’d started college; a nice one, she’d thought at the time, friendly and welcoming. She hadn’t had a great deal in common with them, but they’d been overwhelmingly kind so she’d put in the effort to get along.  
Which had gone pretty well, she’d thought…  
Until the matchmaking efforts had started.  
Eighteen different set ups over the course of two semesters, all of which she’d turned down multiple times before agreeing just so they’d get off her back and stop guilting her.

At this point, a little over a year later, she was ready to ditch the entire friend group and just start hanging out with Casey and the hockey team. They treated him pretty much like a god, so whenever she was around, they tripped over themselves to be kind and helpful and respectful. 

She’d been dodging Amy since the beginning of the current semester (nearly three weeks at this point), because she had the “greatest guy” that April “absolutely had to meet” and she was utterly exhausted of it. 

She didn’t want to meet another guy.  
She didn’t want to be badgered into going on another let-down of a date with some asshole she was never going to be into.  
She was a bamf psychic kunoichi with the most amazing friends who’d ever walked the Earth- or any other planet in any other dimension- and all these so-called “greatest guys” had been less that boring in comparison.  
They’d been dull to say the least.  
Irritating to say more.

She just wanted to go down to the Lair.  
And slink into Donnie’s lab.  
And see what Donnie was working on.  
And…see Donnie.  
Because she absolutely needed to deal with the fact that she was deeply in love with him.  
And had been for years…

And she’d finally come to the long and overdrawn realization that she had to deal with that fact.  
She’d gone to college with the intentions of meeting a completely new and exciting bunch of normal people that she didn’t share a history of ninja wars, space travel, time travel, and just…bananas adventures with to realize she had zero interest in any of them. And frankly, didn’t know how to speak to them because half of what made her a person had to be edited down to be acceptable.

Instead, she’d found a new and deeper appreciation for her wonderful and amazing mutant friends.  
And finally come to accept just how deeply in love with Donnie she was.

Which had come like a smack to the soul over a year ago as she’d sat in Donnie’s lab for the Nth time, dicking around on reddit while Donnie had taken apart, tuned up, tinkered with, then reassembled the Party Wagon’s engine before dropping it back into place.  
She’d been reading some of the petty revenge stories to him and they’d been laughing over them when she’d looked up and it hit her.  
He’d been sweaty, covered in grease and grime, wrench slung over his shoulder and laughing, but he’d been so absolutely beautiful in that moment, she’d had to hide behind her laptop to cover how red she’s gotten- heart pounding like a jackhammer.  
He was so intelligent, skilled, and strong. He’d been utterly capable of handling the seemingly monumental task, and all he’d done was ask her to keep him company.  
Later on, as he’d been cleaning some of the grease off so he could hop in the lab shower, he’d noticed her staring and had shot her an uncharacteristic wink.  
Likely riding a high on his success.  
But it had hit her right in the heart.  
After that, she’d just sunk into the deep realization of what she’d been trying (and failing) to deny for years: she was deeply and completely in love with Donnie and she was tired of the denial.

Hilariously enough, when she’d talked to Casey about it, he had 100% agreed. Both that their steady friends were infinitely better than their college friends (despite his being little more than devoted fanboys), but also that she was in love with Donnie.

“I thought you knew, Red.” He’d laughed when she’d told him as they’d unpacked the week’s groceries, stuffing over two dozen frozen pizzas into the small deep freeze that they’d gotten for that sole purpose. “You two have been endgame since before the farmhouse. Admit it.”

And she’d had to do exactly that.  
She just…hadn’t worked up the nerve to tell him yet.

The guys were turning 19 soon, though, and she’d be 20 soon after that…and hadn’t she put it off long enough, waited long enough, hurt the both of them for long enough?  
She was driving herself up a wall.

She wanted to get close to Donnie. Touch him. Kiss him…  
Hell, it was all she could focus on somedays. Wondering what exactly kissing Donnie would be like, would feel like, would taste like…

Climbing the steps to the library, April sighed and pushed her way inside to head up and get started on her next research paper, lost in mulling over how she’d tell Donnie once and for all.  
And avoiding Amy.  
She’d already gotten 3 texts today and she just…didn’t have the want to deal with it today.

Browsing the section on chemistry, she yanked a few reference books down and cracked one open to flip through.

Maybe she should just kiss him.  
Her thoughts always muddled up when she tried to plan a way to confess, but maybe she should just bypass all of that and kiss him.  
But that led to her thinking about setting it up, how to lead up to it, where would her hands go? Where would his hands go (which led to a tangent of her thinking about his hands)? How long should it last? And, most persistently, what would it taste like?  
That thought stuck with her long after she’d pulled her fifth reference book off the shelf…

“Found you!”  
April overbalanced and nearly dropped her books, clapping a hand over her mouth to cut off a shriek, as she was grabbed from behind.  
She tensed, fighting back the urge to strike out and defend herself.

Except this is a college library, April, not an enemy attack. 

Whipping around, she glared into Amy’s grinning face and shored herself up to deal with whatever was behind that seemingly innocuous expression. She’d been found. Damn.

“Amy, I’ve asked you not to do that.” She shrugged Amy’s hands off and stepped back, resettling the books in her arms. 

“I know, but I’m excited!” Amy leaned in, huffing her long blond bangs from her eyes and grinning, “I come bearing some great news!” 

Fuck. Here we go.  
“Do you?” She mumbled, stepping back and moving toward one of the long tables to set her stack down and shrug out of her backpack to mark her spot. And stall.  
More than anything, she wanted to stall what she knew was coming next.

“Sure do! Peter, you know Peter, I told you about him,” Amy crept close to drop her backpack to the floor and grin close to April’s face. She was always smiling and, while it was genuine, it never felt sincere. April never felt anything even remotely unkind from Amy, but…it still felt off. “Well, he’s agreed to a date and you are going to see him tonight!” 

Biting her lip, stewing in a quiet and unhappy rage, and holding back from absolutely ripping into this girl like she desperately wanted to, April sighed deeply and shook her head.

“I’m not interested, Amy. Tell him no.”

“No way!” The overly bubbly girl bounced closer to her and shook her head, blonde hair flying everywhere, close enough that it brushed April’s face. “You’re definitely going! Don’t you want a great boyfriend?”

Yes.  
She did.  
She absolutely did.  
But she didn’t want whatever bland guy Amy was flinging.  
She wanted Donnie.

“Amy, I’m not interested and not going.” April took a deep, steadying breath, trying to keep her temper. She’d had it with this, was past her limits with Amy and rest of them. This was just too much.

“Oh, yes you are!” Amy singsonged. “You’ve been dodging me for the last few weeks.” Shit, she knew. Dammit. “One date with Peter and I’ll call it even.”

April stared, bit back a sharp retort, and sighed. Amy had crap taste in men and she really wanted to avoid this all together.  
“I’ll give him and hour. At…” April checked the time and sighed, “Four. Today.” It came out more annoyed than intended, but she was holding it in as hard as she could.

Amy, clearly taken aback, took a couple of steps back and nervously licked her lips. This wasn’t the response she thought she’d get, was confused and concerned.

April was beyond caring.

“April, doll, that’s really short notice-“

“So is you springing this on me against my will.” April crossed her arms, daring her to disagree, “Which I have asked over and over for you not to do. I’ll give him an hour today, Amy, but this is the Last. Time.”

Staring wide-eyed, Amy backed up a couple of steps and nodded before darting in to hook her hand in the loop of her backpack and nervously throw it over her shoulder, “O-Okay. I’ll uh- I’ll let him know.” She made to dart off but paused to stare for a second and mumble, “I’ll text you where if he’s available.” Then she hurried away, leaving April to be more annoyed than before.

Pulling a chair out, she fell into it and fought back the urge to cry or scream as she buried her face into her hands and groan.  
She was tired.  
More than tired.  
And she was so far beyond done…

One date to assuage any guilt and then she was absolutely done with the friendships, all of the friendships. They didn’t listen, they didn’t try to understand, they didn’t really care.  
They just put all of these demands on her and expected her to dance along.  
But she had real friends who liked her just as she was.  
Better, true friends.  
And…Donnie.  
She had Donnie.

Pulling out her phone, she opened her text thread with Amy to just cancel. She didn’t want to do this. She wanted to…what?  
Find the nearest manhole cover, make her way to the Lair, find Donnie, and…what? Throw herself at him? Confess? Kiss him? But how to make it happen?  
Fuck.

That was where she kept getting stuck, every time. She’d known for years how Donnie felt about her, and he’d been the epitome of patience and understanding while she’d worked her own shit out. So, how to…break the ice? How to let him know?

She was still very stuck on the idea of kissing him. It was all she really wanted at the end of the day.  
As a start, anyway.

Her phone buzzed and she nearly dropped it as a text from Amy popped up.  
Amy: He agreed to meet in the on-campus café if 4 is still okay. Text me after?  
A picture followed.  
He was an average, boring-looking guy. Dark hair, clean cut, polished smile. Boring.  
Whatever.  
A: Sure, fine.  
Amy: Is…  
Amy: Can we talk? Tomorrow, I guess? You seemed really mad before?

April didn’t answer.  
She just closed the thread and sighed. She’d told them. All of them. Amy, Meredith, Jennifer, Shayna…she’d told all of them that she hated set ups, hated blind dates, didn’t want to date their random guy friends.

She had someone she liked, didn’t like what they were doing, that she was uncomfortable.  
To please stop.  
She’d told them over and over.  
And now she was done trying.

She groaned as her phone buzzed again and nearly put it away, but…fuck it.  
She checked the notifications.  
It was Donnie.  
April’s heart leapt into her throat and she couldn’t open the messages fast enough.

D: Hey, if you’re not busy, you wanna stop by tonight? You know since it’s Friday?  
D: Only if you aren’t busy, though.  
D: Or even if you are busy, but still want to.  
D: No pressure.

He still did this, all these years later. So unsure of himself with her. Because of her.  
She answered at once, wanting to climb through the phone screen and into his lap to give him every assurance he needed. Wanted. Deserved.

A: I’d love to. Is six okay? Patrol tonight?

D: Thankfully no. So, if you need any help with homework or anything, feel free to bring it along.  
D: Not that you need help.  
D: Just in case, though.

He was so sweet, so earnest and precious and sweet, April fought down the ache of telling him how she truly felt, taking a deep breath and fighting herself. She couldn’t do it now, that was an in-person thing.

A: I’m caught up other than a paper I don’t need to really work on yet but will definitely keep your offer in mind.  
A: I’m for sure up for lab work if you need help, though.

D: That’d be great, I’m pulling files for something weird happening in one of the tunnels and would love the help from someone who gives a shit about my system.  
D: See you at six!

Checking the time, April groaned aloud because 6 o’clock was so utterly far away. She figured six would give her enough time to deal with this “date” bullshit and hype herself up to confess tonight.  
With a pout and an unhappy sigh, April dug a notebook out and flipped open one of her reference texts to start taking notes, phone still in hand.

Nervous, feeling jittery and excited, she flicked open Donnie’s profile to touch a tiny kiss to his picture. Now, just to figure out how to kiss the real Donnie…

ADADADADADADADADADAD

April stared down at her hands and sighed.  
Peter was…nice. She guessed. He’s seemed genuinely nice at first anyway, told a couple of jokes she’d heard from Mikey weeks ago, but they were still funny. And oh hey, he was into martial arts and had a Tae Kwon Do blue belt, that was neat.  
The look he gave her when he’d cheekily offered to teach her some moves, and she’d told him she was a third dan black belt in traditional Ninpo was…still nice but a little tight around the edges.  
And he was a bio major, that was neat.

Yeah, she was a psych and chem double major following in her dad’s footsteps and yeah, she’d have to have some required bio courses, but no. She didn’t need his help.  
(She couldn’t imagine this guy possibly knowing a fraction of what Donatello knew or being a fraction of the help.)

Yep, the red hair was natural. And the blue eyes.  
She took after her father in a lot of ways…thanks.  
And yep, she kept trim, must be stronger than she looked with her build.

The nice was wearing off and the creepy was wearing on.  
Wearing on her nerves, for sure.

Surreptitiously, she tugged her phone out to check the time.  
4:25pm  
Crud.  
This was dragging forever.

“Are you…expected somewhere April?” Peter asked, voice and tone just barely hanging onto the edge of nice.

She didn’t think that he really liked her.  
Sure, he’d been excited when she’d showed up, had been enthusiastic to talk about himself, but as time had worn on and she hadn’t played along in caring about him talking only about himself, he’d lost that enthusiasm. But he was invested. For whatever reason, he was still into her and wouldn’t be cool with her just leaving.  
Maybe she could tough out an hour?

“Not at this exact moment, no.” She murmured, tucking her phone between her legs for easy access, “I was just checking the time.”  
“You could have asked,” He offered stiffly, “I have a watch.”

April shrugged blithely, “I have a phone.” She picked up the stack of four deluxe chocolate chunk cookies and carefully tucked them away into her backpack. The guys loved them, so she and Casey always made sure to get a handful every time they were near the café. “So, I don’t really need a watch.”

“So, do you have other plans for tonight, then, April?” Peter drew her attention back to his face. All nice gone, he was frowning at her now. Angry and annoyed at her. But what on Earth for? Surely this couldn’t have been his only set of plans for the evening. It wasn’t even 5 yet. “Another date, maybe? Is that why you insisted on meeting so early?”

A date?  
She was seeing Donnie later and planned to confess…did that count as a date?  
No, she couldn’t see how, but hopefully many dates would follow tonight.  
She had a lot of time to make up for, after all.

“No,” She finally murmured, mulling all of this over in her head, “I’m just seeing some friends later. We almost always hang out on Fridays.”

Which was true.  
If she and Casey weren’t at the Lair, the guys were over at their apartment, eating through all the pizzas they stocked up on every week and surfing their way through Netflix.  
This time next week, she hoped to be booing Leo attempts to make them watch Korean period dramas from the comfort of Donnie’s lap.

Peter’s frown deepened. “Is that so.” A spike of anger hit her, real anger, followed by him taking her words as a personal affrontery. Which was nonsense.

Confused by the surge of hostility, April sat back and arched a brow at him. “Yeah. Do you have a problem with that?”

Drawing up to square his shoulders (unimpressive, she’d seen Raph recently) in a move meant to be intimidating (which was a red flag because why?), April felt less inclined than ever before to stay as the unnecessary and confusing hostility intensified.  
“I wouldn’t say problem,” He murmured darkly, leaning in over the elbows he planted on the table to invade whatever space she had available, “But scheduling plans on the same day I agreed to a date with you is quite rude, wouldn’t you say?”

April snorted, pushed to her feet, and picked up her backpack.  
“First. Amy cornered me in the library and badgered me into this. I have less than zero interest in you.” She rested a hand easily on the tabletop and leaned in, forcing Peter to lean away because no one this lame would ever intimidate April O’Neil. “Second. However interesting you think you are, you’re not. Try asking a question sometime. You might learn something. Third. Whatever this intimidation tactic you think you’re trying is, knock it off. No one is impressed.” She could feel a flood of humiliation and shame poor into this poor sad dude and he was barely holding himself together now, glaring up at her with shiny eyes. She guessed no one had ever really given it to Peter straight before. “And by the way,” She added as she turned to leave, “I am far stronger than I look so stay away from me unless you lose the attitude. And tell Amy to lose my number. I’m done with all of them.”  
Swiping up her tray, she tucked her phone into the waistband of her leggings and moved to dump it before marching out, ignoring the calls of her name following her in harsh, embarrassed tones.

ADADADADADADADAD

Less than twenty minutes later, April was down a manhole and halfway to the Lair before her thoughts, racing thoughts full of Donnie, caught up to the rest of her.

She felt like she would explode, pop like a bubble from all the excitement and anticipation bubbling up inside of her as she headed for the exact place she wanted to go, needed to be.

She ran the rest of the way there.

When she saw the entrance, the light from the common area a soft glow past the turnstiles, she felt a massive wave of anxiety crash through her then disappear. Causing her to grind her heels in, coming to a halt as her heart leapt into her throat then settled back down. Weird. Scary.

Giving herself a quick once over, wondering what the hell? She shook herself out and pushed through the turnstiles to see Leo and Mikey watching tv, stretched out on the floor in front of it, pilled onto a bunch of pillows. Raph was working the training dummy, one sai already buried in its face.

They all looked her way in sync and Mikey turned to sit up and wave at her, massive grin on his face, “Hey, April, you staying for dinner?”

“Depends on what dinner is.” She teased, an easy smile sliding across her face as she stepped further into the Lair, down into the recessed sitting area, and fell onto the cushion on the bench. She always felt better, calmer when she came here. Far more at ease.

Mikey’s eyes lit up. “Barbeque chicken pizza at five levels of spice.” He smirked in well-earned pride. He’d worked hard to reach the level of greatness he’d achieved and just about everything he made now was a winner.

“Sounds awesome.” She grinned back, peeking around Leo to see what they were watching. One of the old 90s anime Casey had gotten them that looked familiar. Subs only because Casey was a snob. 

As she was trying to figure out what it was and if she recognized it, Leo turned to her with a sly smile and murmured, “Donnie’s in the lab.”

Oh.

Blushing, unsure how she’d been so utterly transparent, she thanked him, not bothering to demure or argue or anything. Might as well lean into the truth. Leo and Mikey looked moderately surprised, glanced to each other, then shrugged.

Digging into her backpack, she flashed the snacks she’d brought, and their eyes all lit up, earning whoops of joy and thank yous as they swarmed her. Laughing, she jolted as Raph bumped up to her, peeled the plastic wrap from his cookie and took a big bite. Then turned to size her up, green eyes narrowed but not unkind. 

Then he smirked and let out a snort of good humor, “Something on your mind?”

Sighing, thoughts racing again, all of them leading towards the lab doors, April nodded.

Raph took another big bite. “He’s oblivious, but the rest of us aren’t blind. How long have you been into him?”

Soft Japanese and the sounds of chewing served as the quiet backdrop of her second big confession, “Years.”

“Jeez, April, seriously?” He sounded disappointed in her, felt disappointed in her. She cringed inwardly but nodded.

She deserved it.  
And nodded again.

“And now you’re going to do something about it?” He leaned into her, turning to force her to meet his eyes again. He arched a brow ridge beneath his mask at her, eyes always so bright against the red backdrop of his mask.

Her breath caught and held in the quiet. So quiet, the silence pressed in on her. The other two had paused the tv to listen in so the silence was especially heavy.  
“Yeah, I’m-“ Nervous, she licked her lips and took a deep breath, “I’m gonna do something. Something permanent.” No going back from this, she would make sure of that.

Raph grinned, delight behind it. “Good.” He lifted a big, powerful hand and patted her shoulder. Encouragement. Then a poignant squeeze. A “don’t fuck this up” sort of encouragement…

“See you guys later.” She murmured, pushing to her feet and slinging her backpack over her shoulder. They called back more thank yous as she left the tv pit and headed for the lab doors, slipping inside and closing it firmly behind her.


	2. For as Long as I Breathe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time. It's past time. Now, April just has to say something. Even if it feels like it's too late...

April paused just inside the lab doors, melting in joy at the sound of Donnie singing to himself, soft and sweet, at his desk. She didn’t quite recognize the song, but it was lovely.  
After a few moments, loathe to interrupt but unable to keep quiet, she called out, “Hey, Donnie.”

He went silent and his head jerked up in shock, then back down to check the time, then back up to her. “Oh, you- you’re early. Is…everything okay?”

“Yep.” She smiled, heart thumping when he returned it, “I just wanted to see you.” Then her heart lurched when he blushed and grinned in pure, unbridled happiness.

“Really? That’s-“ But then he caught himself, clearing his throat and covering his blush with a big hand, and- pulled himself back in. April hated seeing it. She’d never liked or wanted it, but now…she hated it. Seeing that burst of happiness at seeing her followed by the quick suppression. She hated it. “That’s great. I, uh- I don’t have anything ready yet to test, but you’re welcome to hang around.” He paused then smiled again, small but adorable, “You’re always welcome.”

“Thanks, Donnie.”

She moved into the lab, stepping toward the desk that Donnie immediately hopped up from behind to grab the spare chair and drag it up, inviting her to sit across from him. To join him.

Laying a hand over the cool skin of his bicep, she thanked him again and squeezed- enough to feel the muscle in his arm jump and see his eyes widen- then slid her fingertips down to his arm before dropping into the chair, opening her backpack to dig out and offer him the last cookie.

Their eyes met and Donnie stared for a half second before giving himself a shake and accepting it with a smile. “She comes bearing a gift.” He teased, moving to drop back into his chair before peeling it open, “If cookies are involved, you should come more often.” He broke the cookie in half and offered half of it to her, “And how were classes today?”

She accepted it graciously, making sure her fingers brushed over his.  
He was right here.  
He was so close…

She had to do this today.  
She couldn’t stand the waiting, the stalling anymore.

But here, so close- a desk’s width apart- and surrounded by Donnie’s experiments, Donnie’s inventions, Donnie’s…work. She could barely string two thoughts together.  
She was so pathetic.

Breaking a piece off her half of the cookie, she popped it into her mouth as he took a bite himself, brow ridges arching beneath his mask as he waited for her answer and she tried to decipher her thoughts enough to figure out what he’d asked.

“Classes are good.” She nodded, savoring the buttery, chocolately treat as she continued to mull through her thoughts, “I made the right decision with my schedule this semester for sure. Having 3 cake required credits on MWF and 1 class I need but don’t excel at on TTh gives my plenty of time to plan and study.”

“Oh, yeah?” Donnie grinned, big and gorgeous, propping a big foot up on the edge of his desk and leaning back in his chair, “What a brilliant idea.”

April smirked and kicked her own feet up, still in her sneakers, and ate another bite of cookie. So yummy. “No one likes a braggart, Donnie.” The schedule set had been his idea, of course, though she was always happy to give credit where it was due.

“You think I’m bragging?” He faux pouted, eating another bite of cookie and shooting her a wink that was like a bolt to the heart, “I’m hurt.” 

Fighting off a blush, she cleared her throat and smirked, “Sure, sure. But since my TTh class is statistics, I’m counting on you for help. Math isn’t my strong point you know.”

“I’m your man.” He shrugged, popping his last bite into his mouth and pulling a canister of wipes from a desk drawer to clean his hands, nudging it her way when he was done.

Her man, hm?  
Well, that was certainly today’s goal, eh.  
Time to make a move forward, then.

“If…you’d like to come to the apartment on those nights, I’ll be happy to cook for you in exchange for the help.” She ventured softly, more than happy. Elated. She covered the blush that won out in the end with another bite of cookie. 

Donnie grinned. “That’d be absolutely amazing. Really?”

Chewing, she nodded an enthusiastic affirmative and his grin widened to show off the adorable gap in his teeth. “Yeah, for sure. I’ll even kick Casey out so we’ll have some privacy.”

There.  
An offer.  
For a standing date.  
And a mildly obvious one, too.  
She hoped.

Donnie’s eyes widened minutely, and his grin faded a little as he swallowed audibly, adam’s apple bobbing, faint blush staining his cheeks. So cute.

Not just smart but fundamentally intelligent, Donnie was most definitely picking up her meaning but didn’t trust himself enough to believe it. She watched him turn her words over in that brilliant mind of his, working through the implications.

He stared at her quietly, foot dropping to the floor as he sat up. She watched each possible meaning drift through his brain, could feel the war between hope vying desperately for a foothold and his full belief that there was no way she could have meant what she’d said in the way that she’d said it.

She popped the last of her cookie into her mouth then reached for a wipe to clean her hands, wanting him, willing him to at least ask for clarification. 

Instead, she felt her heart wrench in her chest as that precious flicker of hope faded away.

Then he nodded, smiling softly at her. A small, sad smile.

Oh, no.

“Donnie-“ 

“That’d be awesome, April,” He murmured over her, “But I would hate to impose.”

“You could never be an imposition!” She gasped, trying hard to figure out where she’d gone so wrong to fuck up this badly, “You’re always welcome, you know that.” But she knew where. This was the result of years of her putting him off. He didn’t even let himself hope anymore.

“…Thank you.” He nodded after a few seconds, licking his lips nervously and reaching to pick up a stack of files from the corner of his desk. “Ah, can you organize these by date for me?”

He completely shut down.   
April couldn’t feel anything from him now but a dull mental static.   
Too many years, too many false starts…  
She hadn’t realized that she’d messed it all up this badly.

“Sure, Donnie. Of course.” They were heavier than he’s made them seem and she pulled them quickly into her lap before they could overbalance. Maybe two dozen or so files, no problem. She went to remark about them, but he was pushing to his feet. He was leaving. How had she fucked it up this badly that he was left needing to escape? “Donnie?”

He froze, swallowed hard, then smiled down at her.

“I-I need another few files. If you’ll organize those, I’ll be back in a few moments with the others.” It was an excuse, they both knew it, but how could she call him out for it when it was her fault that he felt like he needed an out at all?

“Sure, Dee. No problem.” She murmured, watching him walk away and disappear into his range of dilapidated file cabinets before swallowing against the lump in her throat that threatened tears.

She was so stupid.  
A massively stupid moron.

Years of putting him off, she kept having to tell herself, of denying his feelings (and her own), years of brushing him off because there was time, right? Time to deal with it later, right?  
Then she’d gone on all of those stupid fucking dates starting in college. Reluctantly, yeah, but she’d still gone.  
Nineteen of them as of today.  
None of them with Donnie.  
Sure, they’d never led to anything, but she’d still gone along.  
What the fuck else was he supposed to think?  
She’d screwed herself out of even a start.  
Quietly, fighting back frustration and anger at herself, along with tears, she carefully and meticulously organized Donnie’s files by date as requested. 

Stacking them neatly to the side, she huffed a deep breath and stood, rubbing the burn from her eyes.  
Enough was enough.  
She’d wasted too much tome, refused to waste anymore. No more casual flirting, no more hints, no more insinuations. She would be straightforward. And humble.

She wanted Donnie.  
She needed to know if he still wanted her too.  
Fuck.

Following the way Donnie had gone, April angled around his file cabinets and shelves and found him standing quietly beside one of the taller cabinets, flipping through a file, mask down around his neck as he rubbed beneath his eyes.

The strangest combination of self-anger, curiosity, and affection throbbed through her chest at the sight of him.  
Her beautiful Donatello.

Knocking to alert him, she bit her lip when he looked her way in surprise.

“April-“ He sucked in a breath and cleared his throat, big vermillion eyes redder than normal in his adorable green face. Especially when he blushed, “What are you-“

“I need to talk to you.” She said quickly, insistently, stepping slowly toward him. Not wanting him to panic.

He blinked wide eyes at her a few times then nodded, setting the file aside and gesturing for het to come closer. She didn’t miss the deep breath he took as he shored up his deep well courage. “Sure thing April, but…I was coming back in a few minutes.” He offered a tiny smile and a weak chuckle, “No need to hunt me down.”

“I couldn’t wait, I-“ 

She what? What could she say that he’d believe?  
I love you? He’d never believe that.  
I want to go out with you? Yeah, right.  
I need to know if you still love me? That was just fucking cruel.  
And she’d hurt him too much already.  
Then what?  
“April?” Donnie whispered, voice soft and full of concern that practically bled off of him, “Wh-what is it?”

She took a deep steady breath and tried again. “Donnie, I just- I really need to-“ She groaned in frustration.

What could she say??!

“April?”

He stepped closer, leaning in, eyes full of worry, hands raised to help however he could, however she needed.  
Just like always.

Fuck it.

April’s hands shot out to grab him by the lip of his plastron, barely noting the shock on his face as she hauled herself in to fuse her mouth to his. 

He jolted and they overbalanced, mouths parting as they tipped to the floor in a collapse of limbs.

“April,” Donnie panicked, “Are you-“

Scrambling to her knees, she cupped his face and pressed her mouth back to his, cutting him off. She’d finally made up her mind that today was the day.

She could barely think at the cool press of Donnie’s lips against hers.

Please, she thought desperately, tears prickling the back of her eyes, Please, Donnie. She couldn’t stand the thought that she might be too late.  
Please kiss me back.

Finally, after a few seconds that stretched on for years, he did. He reached up to thread his fingers into her hair and tilt her head to the side, moving his mouth beneath hers. 

And oh god, it was so good.   
It was more than she’d dreamed.

His lips were cool but pliant against hers, but then he deepened the kiss and the first stroke of his hot tongue over hers burned through her so hot that she shivered in delight.  
He pulled her in, lying there on the cold floor, tugging her in closer as his free arm curled around her waist, solid and strong, and she tossed a leg across his plastron to straddle him so she could get as close as possible.   
All she needed now was to be able to get off the floor and into a bed.   
She could drown in him.  
She’d never get enough…

Donnie froze just as he started working his hand up her shirt, calloused fingers brushing up the bare skin of her back, and she whined softly when he pulled away, licking her lips to catch any lingering trace before cracking her eyes open.  
He was so sexy, flushed and hazy-eyed, lips still parted and begging for more.  
She leaned in to give him just that.

“April.” She paused and met his eyes again, “I- I need some clarification here.” His voice was soft and a little raspy and then he licked his lips again, drawing her gaze to them. The hand in her hair slipped down so both arms curled around her. Holding her against him, holding her like she was precious and like he never wanted to let her go. She nodded. Anything. Anything for him. “April, you’ve kissed me before, but nothing has ever- we’ve never-“ He licked his lips again, eyes widening, filling with anxiety, “Please tell me what this means.”

She kissed him again, couldn’t help herself, and smiled.  
“I’ve been really stupid putting it off for this long, but I love you, Donnie. I have for a long time. There’s no one else for me but you, never will be.” She took a deep breath and sighed, watching his eyes get even wider, feeling that desperate swell of hope in him that she wanted to nurture and help grow, “And this is me hoping I’m not too late.”

“No,” He mumbled, small but significant, making April’s heart lurch in her chest, especially when he, wonderingly…leaned up to touch a soft kiss to her lips, “Never too late. Would you…say it again?” He whispered, already leaning in for a deeper kiss she wanted to sink into.

“I love you, Donnie.” She sighed against his mouth as it closed with hers, delighting in the taste of him.  
Chocolate chip cookie and the distant taste of coffee.

Perfection.  
She finally knew what it was like to kiss Donnie.  
It was perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I will look at you across any room and think you are the most beautiful person I've ever seen for as long as I breathe."  
> a.r. asher


	3. Consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> April's always down for a good time. But Casey's ideas don't always lead to a good time...sometimes they just lead her to want to punch him in the face.
> 
> And sometimes, they make everyone else wanna punch him in the face too...

April woke up with a groan to the loud sound of Donnie’s alarm.  
Burrowed in a few of his fuzzy blankets, she tried to roll over and find the source but instead rolled right into a solid body.

Above her head, Donnie yawned and grumbled, “T-phone, silence alarm.” The noise stopped only for him to mumble something else to himself and settle back down, curling an arm over her to hold her close.

Which was only strange because when she’d originally gone to take a nap, she’d been alone. Smiling to herself, she scooted upward in the bed, digging her toes in until the top of her head hit his chin. Donnie let out a soft laugh then and hugged her tight.

“Decided to join me after all?” She yawned, pulling fully out of sleep and digging her way out of her blanket cocoon to find the body she was cuddled up against.

“Well, you made a compelling argument.” He teased, digging his way in as well, his hands finding hers and squeezing before they pulled each other closer. “I’ve been working all day and then my perfectly wonderful girlfriend turns up wanting to cuddle for a nap.” He leaned in to brush a soft kiss across her forehead, warm breath puffing against her skin as he murmured, “I was a fool to turn you down.”

Just the light touch of his lips had her skin tingling and she couldn’t help but smile wider, tracing her hands lightly up his rough leathery plastron, to curl around his neck and pull him down for an insistent kiss, mumbling against his mouth, “I don’t think I said any of that.” 

“I’m an expert at reading between the lines.” He laughed softly before deepening the next kiss. Heat pooled low in April’s body as he wrapped his arms firmly around her, making her heart was pound, and her face feel hot.   
She’d never getting enough of kissing Donnie.

In the week since she’d finally worked up the nerve to confess, she’d been flying high on a cloud of bliss. Their original agreement had been to take things slowly and ease into this new relationship they both wanted to build.   
Thus far, they’d done a terrible job, culminating last night when Donnie, having pulled her into his lap earlier in the evening, pealed her out of her shirt and bra between one hot kiss and the next then trailed a line of those burning kisses downward.  
He’d laid her down in the flickering light of the movie they’d been watching in her bed to whisper words against her skin both worshipful and profane.  
It was likely they would have gone further if not for Casey coming home not long after and making a bunch of noise to let them know they weren’t alone.  
Decent of him, she guessed.

And so, she’d practically floated to class this morning and had felt great all morning, hardly able to wait for the evening so she could see Donnie and climb back into his arms.

Her high had lasted right until her former friend group found her on her way to the library to make photocopies of some of the older texts she’d need for her next paper.  
They’d wanted to fight, but she hadn’t been even close to in the mood for it.   
She’d tried to stay calm, tried to explain, tried to just leave.  
But all they’d wanted to do was yell at her. Except for Amy, who kept crying loudly.  
Eventually, she’d let herself be goaded into a shouting match when she was called “an ungrateful bitch” by Jennifer.   
She’d exploded.   
Had let them hear exactly what she thought of all of them. They were dismissive, demanding, manipulative, and toxic. She was completely done with all of them and if they didn’t like it, they could suck it up.  
After that, she’d stomped off to the library, ignoring the crowd their shouting had drawn.  
And she’d found a quiet corner of the old building to curl up in and cry her guts out, humiliated and angry. Sad for what the friendships should have been, her first college connections.  
What a waste.

After classes, she’d headed straight for Donnie, no stops, finding her boyfriend amongst his file cabinets again. He’d panicked at her blotchy face, brimming with fresh tears because her day had done from dreamy to nightmarish in a matter of a few minutes, hadn’t gotten any better, and all she wanted was her dream back.  
This time, when she threw herself into his arms for kisses, he’d been prepared so they didn’t end up on the floor, just wrapped in each other’s arms until she’d felt well enough to talk it out.

He’d known about the dates, but he was still hurt, and she was still ashamed for having gone along with them for as long as she did. She was supposed to be stronger than that, better than that. And she needed to get that part of her back for good.  
Donnie had glowed about her standing up for herself, though, and had told her how proud he was of her again and again for leaving the toxicity of those friendships behind.  
By the end of it, she was proud of herself too.  
And exhausted from all the crying earlier and emotional heavy lifting she’d accomplished this afternoon.

So, when Donnie had offered his bed for a nap, she’d been thrilled.   
Less thrilled when he’d declined to join her.  
Infinitely more so now.   
She was glad he’d changed his mind, really glad, and told him so again and again between more kisses.  
He happily agreed and asked, between one kiss and the next, if she would be staying the weekend.   
She enthusiastically said she would.

After all, given last night’s activities, she didn’t think it’d be too far out of left field if she brought up discussing third base since they’d both been pretty happy with second.  
Just thinking it about it had her giddy with anticipation.  
Curiosity and an overwhelming desire had her dying to know what Donnie was packing under that shell.  
A few tentative internet searches had been fruitless, terrifying, and embarrassing but also had her more curious than ever.  
She wanted to make him feel good.  
As good as he made her feel.

As Donnie’s hands had started wandering up under her shirt again with her delighted encouragement, someone knocked on the door.

They both groaned in irritation.

“What time is it?” She mumbled unhappily, sighing at the way her lips tingled, leaning back so Donnie could reach across her to turn a lamp on.

“After seven. I set my alarm for when Mikey said dinner would be ready.” As the light came on, he peered down at her with flushed cheeks and warm eyes, mask down around his neck so his eyes shone like red jewels in his adorable green face. After a second, a huge grin spread across said face, followed by a sweet kiss that had her melting. “I love seeing you here, in my bed.”

“I love being here.” She cooed, sitting up as he climbed from the bed to flip over the edge of his loft and pad to the door. “Betcha it’s Leo.” She teased, leaning over the edge to see.

“Of course, it is.” He snorted, unlocking the door to let him in.

Indeed, it was Leo smiling sheepishly in the doorway and holding his hands up at the less than friendly look his brother was giving him. “Casey’s here and he has something planned. Raph had to practically sit on him so he wouldn’t be the one banging on the door.”

“Any idea what’s on his mind?” April grumbled, drawing Leo’s gaze. He blushed and she fought down the urge to laugh, “None of his plans are ever very legal. Or safe.”

Before he could answer, a shout and a raucous laugh came from down the hall and Leo sighed but stepped blithely to the side as Raph tackled Casey to the floor through the open doorway, the former snarling for the latter to stop being a dick as said latter playfully fought him off.

Finally, Casey let Raph pin him when he noticed where he was. “Sup, Dee.” He grinned, then looked April’s way and his grin widened, “C’mon, Red. Mikey’s made a taco bar and some wicked sauce that I’m pretty sure can be counted as a chemical weapon.”

April just snorted, leaning over the loft edge, arms curled beneath her, “And I’m supposed to watch you eat it in case I need to call the hospital?”

“Fuck no,” He protested as he and Raph untangled enough to get to their respective feet, slinging their arms over each other’s shoulders, “We’re gonna play truth or dare and it’s gonna be one of the consequences. I’m gonna make all you losers cry tonight.” Now, he and Raph were both grinning like demons.

And April already felt sick to her stomach.   
Truth or dare with the two of them was rarely a good time. They teamed up to be generally diabolical assholes to everyone.

“C’mon, April,” Raph cajoled, trying and failing to appear friendly and fun, but she’d known him far too long for that and could feel exactly how unfriendly his intentions really were, “I’ll go easy on you.” The hairs on the back of her neck rose at the lie he so easily purred at her.

“Not me,” Casey snorted, “You’re all going down.”

“Oh, yeah, that really makes me want to play,” Donnie grumbled, Leo nodding beside him, the two of them crossing their arms over their plastrons, sharing an unhappy look, and looking back to their brother and friend. Donnie, at least, was lying. He wanted to play; his energy was vibrating with it. But he turned to her with a sweet half-smile and shrugged, “We can pass if you want.”  
And he would.  
For her, he would.  
She could feel that too.

“I’m only picking truth and fuck your hot sauce consequences, Jones.” She conceded finally. She wasn’t up for shenanigans, but she wasn’t about to deprive Donnie. 

And despite his and Leo’s protests, all four of them cheered and she couldn’t suppress a smile, not up for shenanigans herself, maybe, but up for watching whatever tortures they decided to inflict upon each other for sure.  
This promised to be a long night either way.

“All right, everybody, get out of my room.” Donnie moved to the door as Leo herded the other two out as they made kissy noises, “We’ll be out shortly. And fuck off, Casey.” He grumbled at something Casey said that had Leo looking disgusted and Raph dragging Casey out of the room by a firm grip on the sloppy bun piled precariously on top of his head. Donnie slammed the door in his face and grumbled to himself before turning back to her with a soft, indulgent smile, “You sure you want to play?”

“No, but you do.” She smiled back, watching him move to climb the ladder up to rejoin her, “And I’ll play, just take it easy on me.”

“I will but can’t guarantee the others.” He murmured, getting close and leaning in for a kiss just as she hooked her hands around the back of his neck and dragged him in. He toppled down on top of her with a look of mild panic, unable to catch his weight as April happily wrapped her arms and legs around him.

And he was definitely heavy, but it was a weight she welcomed.  
She loved how close she could get now, that she could kiss him whenever she wanted now, could get her hands all over him now.  
She was so happy she could burst from it.  
Donnie, laughing, rose as she let him go and leaned in for a second attempt. It was sweet and wonderful and had her feeling warm all the way through. Perfect.  
After a few more long, soft kisses and several long, protracted moments of just holding each other close, they finally sat up and agreed that they either had to get it over with or Casey would come back. Likely with backup, which was likely to be Mikey.  
The only force on earth that channeled the same sort of chaotic energy Casey did.

So, reluctantly, both swung down from the loft so April could shuffle through her overnight bag to drag out her pajamas, some comfy leggings and a faded oversized Space Heroes tee she’d stolen from her dad that Leo always eyed covetously.   
She changed quickly, happy to escape her bra and peeking at Donnie from the corner of her eye as he turned bright red, so adorable. 

“April…”

She dropped the shirt over her head and turned to him, feeling a jumble of things from him, but one of which was a heavy thread of lust. She liked that a lot.   
But then she saw his face and how uncomfortable he looked.   
Uh-oh.   
That look had her insides twisting with some mild anxiety.

“Yeah?” She licked her lips, nerves jangling, as he backed up to lean against one of the shelves under his loft. Shelves full of old notebooks, binders and packs of blueprints. All of his old and completed studies and experiments were stored in here.

“Can we…” He rubbed at the back of his head and sighed, “Can we talk about last night?”

She nodded, bracing herself nervously at the ladder and hoping he didn’t see exactly how freaked out she was now. “Yeah, of course.”

“I know we planned on taking things slow and then last night we…” He offered a tiny smile, “Got a little carried away. I just want to make sure that you’re still comfortable because I don’t want to pressure you.”

What? She’d spent a good portion of last night and today planning how to push things further and here he was worried about her being comfortable and okay. He truly was too good for her.  
April smothered a laugh at her own expense and shook her head, “I promise you I enjoyed every second of it.”

“Oh, good.” His relief was immediate, and his smile spread a little, “Great, actually. Really great. So, I guess…we’re both okay going a little faster?” He moved toward her, a big hand cupping her hip and sliding up to her waist, sending tingles racing over her skin and heat pooling low in her body. 

This wasn’t a conversation she could have predicted happening, she mused as his other hand threaded his fingers in her hair to tilt her head back and touch kisses to her face, and she certainly couldn’t have predicted it going so far in her favor. She was intensely happy about both, though.

“Faster sounds wonderful.” She murmured, hooking her fingers into the lip of his plastron and tugging him in for a deep kiss. And then curling her arms over the rim of his carapace to keep him close for another one.

Happy, delighted, overjoyed, she smiled hazily up at him when he drew back to grin at her, “Until tonight?”

She stepped back and hummed in soft agreement, “I can hardly wait.”

Leaning in for one last kiss, he then slipped his arm around her shoulders to lead her to the door, pull it open and then follow her to the kitchen where something smelled yummy.   
And kinda spicy.  
Her stomach growled in agreement.

“Finally!” Mikey grinned when he saw her, but all April could do was blink in amazement at his meticulously laid out and very thorough taco bar.  
He’d pulled out the stops for sure with beef, chicken, and tofu, every possible topping including several types of cheese, lots of veggie options, and a variety of construction methods. Including tortilla boats. Something told April that Mikey and Casey had been planning this for a while.  
Which couldn’t possibly be a good thing.

“Holy chalupa.” Donnie mumbled from behind her, bumping up to her back.

“No kidding.” She shook her head, taking it all in. It was… a lot of food. But then, these five ate like starving bears so she supposed that was reasonable.

“Awesome!” Mikey rounded their concrete slab table and seized her by the hands, raising a small amount of panic at the exuberant excitement leaking off of him as well as the scary feel of Mikey mischief. And the absolute delight shining out of his baby blues in their field of orange, “I put a little spice in everything, don’t worry I made Leo test everything for spice level, and if that isn’t enough, there are 5 different sauces and salsas and also-“ He picked up a squeeze bottle full of inky black mystery and held it up to her nose. April nearly gagged at the smell of it and fought not to heave, “This is one of the consequences.”

“It smells like a war crime.” April managed before sneezing, her body reflexively rejecting that whole round of nonsense. Not a pleasant smell. Hot, earthy and, almost unpleasant. No thank you. Ever. “Whatever that is, it doesn’t belong in stomachs. Or existence.”

Mikey grinned while Casey cackled across the kitchen, “My mom went on a business trip last week and brought back some of these peppers called Carolina Reapers.” He moved close to swing an arm over Mikey’s shoulders so both could grin like maniacs.

“And we ordered some ghost peppers online and I made a sauce using them.” Mikey nodded, then looked pensive, and tapped his chin, “My blender is destroyed, by the way. I’ve cleaned it five times, but it still makes everything waaay too spicy.”

“I’ll get you a new one, old chum.” Casey shrugged amiably, “It was a noble enough sacrifice. So, who’s ready for a challenge?”

“Pass.” April snorted instantly, “You eat that at your own risk.”

“Pass.” Leo followed with a shrug. He’d never been much of a fan of super spicy anything so that was unsurprising.

Mikey pouted and Casey and Raph booed, but neither of them much cared. If they wanted to burn off all their tastes buds, let them. April did glance over to Donnie, though, who was a big fan of spicy food and who was currently looking up something on his phone. After a second, he agreed to the challenge.

Raph leered at him with a shit-stirring grin, “Had to make sure it wouldn’t hurt you?”

“Hardly.” Donnie rolled his eyes, “But my plans for tonight supersede whatever BS you, Mikey, and your batshit cohort have in mind.”

April fought off a blush, thrilled at whatever he had in mind for the evening but Raph just frowned in confusion and shrugged, “Whatever. I have a challenge to win and the rest of you to make cry. Let’s get this party started.”

April moved close enough to catch Donnie’s eye and smiled when he winked at her.   
Plans indeed. 

ADADADADADADADADAD

Three hours later and April was moderately amazed none of them were dead.  
For various reasons.  
The highlights were likely to give her nightmares.

Casey had tried to deter any of them from choosing truth by making his first truth the same for all of them: “Which hand is your dickhand?” Which had all of them blushingly lifting their right hands- except Donnie, who was ambidextrous and lifted both hands.

In retaliation, April had dared him to take a punch to the face from Raph who was easily embarrassed, especially by ANYTHING of a sexual nature.  
Which meant Casey now sported a black eye.

Raph had gotten his own bit of revenge too by getting Casey to admit he was bi, something April was surprised none of them had known for sure. Apparently, Leo and Donnie had gotten suspicious when they’d noticed a pattern of him bragging about certain conquests more than others and being shady about details.  
Mikey had put the pieces together with a quippy “Maybe they’re guys” one evening after Casey had left but none of them had known how to bring it up.  
April had found out long ago when they’d moved in together and she’d caught him in the living room at 3am whacking it on the sofa to a bootleg copy of the new Magic Mike.  
She’d panicked, he’d panicked, she’d screamed, he’d screamed as he’d scrambled to pull his pants up, and she’d freaked and thrown several nearby abandoned pucks at him as he’d run for his bedroom.  
The next day, they had a very candid discussion that if she ever caught him like that on the sofa again, she’d kick his ass. Then she’d made him get the cushions cleaned.  
Finally, he’d meekly (and it was the only time she’d seen Casey be meek about anything) asked her if him liking guys bothered her.  
The answer being no, of course not, because he could do whatever with whoever, it was none of her business so long as the person he chose made him happy.  
And they stayed the fuck off the sofa.  
That had earned her a shockingly sincere but welcome hug.

Leo singled out Mikey for a few rounds; getting him to admit that he’d stolen several of his comics, forcing him to give them back, then making him give up a few extra as retribution.   
After a while, he got bored with the game, though, and instead paid as little attention as he could get away with as he scrolled through reddit forums looking for people to argue with.  
At different points, he’d made them all have to function for a half hour blindfolded, which had resulted in a hilarious collision when both Mikey and Raph had to go to the bathroom at the same time as their times had overlapped.   
He’d also made Casey be the first to take the sauce challenge, at which point they all found out Casey had stashed a half dozen gallons of milk in the fridge because he cracked one open to guzzle while crying. 

Raph returned fire on Casey’s behalf when he made Leo google a list of popular pick-up lines and deliver them all, sincerely, to Casey who had good-naturedly listened to each one as Leo got redder and redder.  
Raph was also the reason April had a hickey on the side of her neck from Donnie (that she’d had to bite her lip through because, audience aside, it had felt really good but had left her red-faced) and the reason Mikey nearly choked trying to do the cinnamon challenge. Which had both Donnie and Leo panicking and trying to get enough water in him to swallow before yelling at their disinterested quad, who’d grumped back, “He’s fine! Stop yelling at me, he’s breathing!”

Donnie ended up being pretty diabolical at the game himself, either making the guys have to solve complex equations on every dare or using truths to find out who broke his lab equipment or whatever else around the Lair he’d mostly recently had to fix, then using consequences to carry out decisive vengeance.  
The only person safe from his wrath was April whose truths consisted of him purring soft “do you love me”s at her while the others pretended to gag or doling out dares that were various versions of “tell me you love me”s while the others protested how unfair he was being.  
Casey protested one time too many and thus had to sit while Mikey drew on his face in permanent marker.  
Mikey had agreed with him, though, so he went easy and just did a few scribbles near his temples and behind his ears. 

Mikey tried to make everyone do the sauce challenge on all of his dares at first, but he finally stopped after they all just started choosing truth for all of his turns.   
He got them all back for it by daring Donnie to give a 20-minute lecture on alternating current, which they all had to sit for.   
April happily sat through it, adoring the sound of Dannie and how excited he got when he got the chance to consequence-free info dump on his siblings.

Currently, it was Mikey’s turn again and he was flicking through his phone with one hand while the other held a massive burrito. Full of some incredibly questionable ingredients.

“April,” He called her name and she perked up from where she was resting against Donnie’s side on the cushioned bench in the tv pit, playing with the fingers of one hand (checking out the circumference and length, though she’d never admit it aloud, and coming to realize how big they really were) while Donnie polished off his ninth hard shell taco with the other, “Truth or dare?”

“Truth.” She mumbled, wrapping the fingers of one of her hands around one of Donnie’s fingers. Big, his hands were big. And she loved how they felt on her body. Loved the contrast of his green skin against her pale freckled skin. Freckles he’d spent quite some time kissing the night before…  
The longer this stupid game dragged on, the more time she had to think about all the things she’d really love for him to do with his hands instead…

“Hm,” Mikey hummed, tearing another bite from his burrito, “I see you getting all friendly with Donnie’s hands there. What’s going through your mind concerning them?” He waggled his brows beneath his mask with a sly grin, but she just rolled her eyes. A lot of her getting called on kept ending up being something involving Donnie as well.

“How good they feel on my body.” She intoned with a smirk, daring him to say something else.

But he just grinned and muttered, “Get some, sis” under his breath while Donnie was almost preening under the attention he was getting, Casey leered at her, and the other two blushed in obvious discomfort.   
“Sis” was a new one and one he’d started using this past week after discovering her and Donnie in the lab, lips locked together.   
He’d cat-called them and Donnie had thrown a wrench at him that he’d barely dodged and, since then, he’d been off and on after her with water balloons as some form of familial initiation.  
Which Karai had said was exactly what it was, describing how he’d finally nailed her in the dojo once, which had pissed Leo off to no end.  
After that, Karai had also purringly congratulated her on her boyfriend acquisition and insisted they get together soon while Shinigami cat-called in the background.   
Which reminded April of their dinner date plans next Wednesday at her place.

Donnie dropped a kiss to the top of her head and mumbled it was her turn, pulling her out of her thoughts. So, tired of this game, she picked the only quick turn. “Leo.”

“Hm.” He acknowledged her, typing into his phone.

“Truth or dare.”

“I don’t care. Truth.” He hummed, swearing under his breath and typing again.

Shaking her head at his complete lack of attention, she laughed and leaned her head back against Donnie’s shoulder. “Which weapon are you the worst at using?”

“Tessen.” Leo muttered then swore again, which was true enough. He’d asked her for lessons a year or so ago and had definitely mastered it to an extent, but he’d never managed to throw it the way she did. Likely due to the lack of psychic powers but try telling Leo that.

“Seriously?” Mikey asked, edging close to read over Leo’s shoulder and see what had him so enthralled. 

“Yeah, I can’t get the throws right.” April mentally high-fived herself for knowing that as Leo continued, “Mikey, stop breathing in my ear.”

“Sorry, bro. It’s your turn, though.”

“Is it? Fuck, hang on.” He typed some more, swore as he flipped to something he scrolled through, then flipped back to type more. “Okay, Raph, truth or dare.”

Raph, who had Chompy cradled in his arms as the housecat-sized alien tortoise baby snoozed, grumbled a bit, but followed it up with, “Uhhh…fuck it, dare.”

“I dare you to eat four big bites of whatever it is that Mikey is eating.” Leo spared a moment away from his phone to peek over his shoulder at his youngest brother, “Mikey, what the hell is in that?”

Mikey tore off a big bite and, muffled, answered, “Tofu, fried onions, refried beans, rice, gorgonzola, anchovies, licorice ropes, marshmallow fluff, and spicy salsa.”

Gross. Raph went pale. “I’d rather grow taste buds on my feet.”

Mikey, with big, wounded eyes, bleated a soft, hurt, “Hey…”

Raph ignored him. “Consequences.”

“Who is more dominant is bed, you or Y’gthygba?” Leo smirked behind his phone. They had all long learned the secret to getting Raph to do their dares and he was still angrily giving into them. 

Proven when he went as red as his mask and sputtered before pulling himself together enough to call Leo an asshole, then turn to Mikey with a disgruntled, “Fork it, little brother.”

Grudgingly, Mikey rose to his feet to shuffle hesitantly over so he could reluctantly share with his brother.  
Who took all four bites with bitter stoicism before bolting for the kitchen, upsetting Chompy, so he could crack open and chug three sodas in quick succession.

Mikey’s face just fell as he lamented the waste and Leo winced at it with a soft “sorry, bro” because he really should have seen how that would play off.

When Raph returned, he was fuming and glaring daggers at her elder brother, who just ignored him, content in the rule that no one could call on the person who had just called on them.  
Ironic since it had been Raph who’d set that rule.

“Jones.” He snarled instead, falling back onto the beanbag chair he’d so hurriedly vacated and pulling Chompy back into his lap, “Truth or dare.”

“Dare.” Casey perked at once, already grinning. He shimmied up into a sitting position from where he’d been reclined on one of the other beanbags and tucked his phone away. Ready, willing, and up for anything.  
And April would definitely give him credit for that. Whatever shenanigans he came up with, he participated in 100 percent.

“Dare you to kiss April.” Raph cut his eyes her way with an evil grin, raising the hairs on the back of her neck.

She snorted, “No.”

“Get fucked, Raph.” Donnie mumbled, busy scrolling through his own phone. April peeked to see a list of maintenance projects he had around the lair. Fall was almost upon them, so he had to make sure the Lair was winter proof yet again.   
He really didn’t get enough appreciation.

Casey shrugged, having been shocked at the dare anyway going by the look on his face, and mumbled, “Consequence, then.”

April watched Raph’s eyes then cut to Leo and, having taken away Casey’s only other option, she saw his vengeance fully click into place as he grinned evilly, “Dare you to kiss Leo.”

Casey darted off with a laugh, hardly minding being used as someone’s weapon of choice.

Leo had enough time to realize his name had been said before Casey crashed into him, angry shout cut off by the mouth sealed against his.  
It lasted seven seconds at the most, long enough for Leo to regroup from the shock and formulate a response before he kicked the unholy shit out of Casey, sending him flying across the Lair.

April and the others gaped at whatever raw stupidity had overcome the two of them as Raph and Mikey cackled while Leo got up to retrieve his phone, which had been knocked across the floor from the impact.  
The look on his face was absolutely murderous.

“Not smart.” Donnie murmured softly and she glanced up to see him shaking his head in disbelief. April nodded in full agreement.  
Leo was a poor choice for enemy.

A couple minutes later, among groans and wheezing laughs and coughs, Casey came limping back, clutching his ribs and grinning. He made kissy faces at Leo and earned an unfriendly gesture that only translated with their tridactyl hands. “C’mon, man, what’s a kiss between friends?”

“I would think a friend would understand the importance of consent.” Leo stated icily.

Casey winced but didn’t let that deter him. “It was for the dare, Leo. Be cool.”

He was pointedly ignored.

And so, hobbling over, he fell onto the bench across from April and Donnie who eyed him suspiciously as Raph got up to high five him then check his ribs.

“Fuck, Leo, I think you broke something.”

“Get fucked, Raph.” Leo murmured coolly, scrolling pointedly through his phone again.

“Not broken.” Casey shook his head, “Trust me, I know what broken ribs feel like. It’s gonna bruise like a motherfucker, though.”

“I’ll get you some ice.” Mikey stood up and stretched, “It’s the least I can do in return that sort of quality entertainment. Plus, I need another burrito cause Raph ruined my last one.” He hopped over Leo’s attempt to trip him, laughing and shooting him finger guns. 

“Red.”

April jolted, hair raising on the back of her neck, as she glanced Casey’s way and nervously asked, “What?”

“We still have that bruise shit at home, yeah? The stuff that breaks them up and makes them heal faster?”

Pausing to mentally sift through the two extensive med kits they kept under the sink, she nodded after a few seconds, “Yeah, pretty sure. You picked up two tubes to make up for the one you finished off after your last practice.”

“Plus, I have some in my lab.” Donnie added, “That you can use tonight.”

“Awesome, because I am really going to be feeling this shit tomorrow.” He groaned as he shifted his position to settle down and sigh. Then he smirked, “Oh and truth or dare.”

She groaned aloud, hoping she’d avoided this, “I just got called on!”

“Not by me.” He shrugged.

She rolled her eyes and grumbled as Donnie leaned in to mumble a quiet “sorry” and press a soft kiss to her temple. She turned her head to catch him in a quick kiss that sent a lovely thrill through her before rolling her eyes at his expectant smile. “Fine.” She grumbled, cutting her eyes back to Casey, “Truth. Asshole.”

Casey nodded and leaned back with a wince to think. “Well.” He hummed, “I wasn’t gonna use this one because I figured we’d all be going after each other, but everyone’s taken it pretty easy on you so I’m gonna pull out the big guns.” He cleared his throat and grinned demonically. “What were the last ten things you googled on your phone?”

She nearly choked, eyes blowing wide, and she shivered as she suddenly felt herself go cold.  
Humiliation crept through her along with no small amount of anger. Because she knew exactly what some of her last searches had been about and she didn’t want a single soul to know about any of them.  
Ever.

“How do you know what I’ve been googling?” She mumbled softly, feeling her cheeks heat up, pointedly ignoring the look of concern her boyfriend was trying to lean into her line of vision, worry leaking off him.

Casey shrugged, “I peeked over your shoulder this morning when you were looking up something about chocolate something and saw what else you’d been looking up.” Still grinning, he waggled his brows and winked. “So, spill, Red.”

Licking her lips nervously, she sighed, “Consequences.”

“Let me read off the last ten things on your phone.” He cackled, having the unmitigated gall to hold his hand out and wiggle his fingers at her.  
It took a lot of self-control not to break them.

But oh, when she got her hands on him, bruised ribs would be the least of his worries. And really, wouldn’t she be doing humanity a favor by removing him from the gene pool? She could feel herself getting worked up, so embarrassed and angry that she was starting to shake.

“April?” She wheeled on Raph, who held his hands up in an inoffensive gesture, his green eyes startled and wide against the backdrop of his red mask. “Uh. You need to calm down. You’re really red and Donnie looks like he’s afraid you’ll explode if he touches you.”

Looking up, she met Donnie’s eyes, wide and full of concern, and swallowed hard past the rising lump in her throat. God, this was going to be horrifically embarrassing. Shaky handed, taking a deep breath, she tugged her phone from her pocket, opened it and her browser, and turned it to show Donnie her search history.   
His eyes widened and his pupils narrowed to pinpoints as he mottled red all over his face.

“Oh, fuck.” He mumbled, swallowing before clearly attempting then failing to fight off a smile. “Maybe…she could get a different consequence?” He murmured quietly.

“Oh, hell no.” Raph piped up before Casey could say anything. “Now you have to read it.” 

“Yeah, with that reaction, the curiosity would eat me alive.” Mikey added excitedly, glancing over to Leo to see if he agreed. 

Leo was peering at them over his phone with his nosy face on, brow ridges perked and eyes wide.

“Votes in my favor,” Casey laughed, “Read it and weep, Red.”

Weep indeed. Anxiety wrapping a firm band around her ribs, she felt like she’d be ill or cry. She swallowed, took a deep breath and met Donnie’s eyes again.  
He was still pretty red but whatever he was feeling was…strange.  
Worry gone, there was a tinge of humor but a lot of excitement and hope. And love.  
She could spend her life basking in Donnie’s near tangible feelings of love for her.   
Oh, fine.

Groaning in annoyance, she grumbled aloud, “Do dolphins beat up sharks?” She’d read a blurb on social media and wanted to check herself. Fun fact: they do. Which she clarified when Mikey immediately asked for the facts. “Failed movie Sean Connery was in.”

“Oh, that’s from last night.” Donnie murmured, curling his arm around her shoulders to pull her into his body and hold her close. She snuggled in, loving the solid feel of him, “We were thinking of the one that prompted his retirement: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.”

“Right.” April nodded, licking her lips nervously and sighing again, “Recipes for Italian hot chocolate.”

“What is that?” Mikey perked up again, “Is it good? Is it hard to make?” He pulled his phone out and started typing on it.

“Best place to get chocolate covered espresso beans.” She mumbled, shooting an evil glare at Casey because they were supposed to be Donnie’s mutation day gift and now it was ruined. Although still good considering how delighted Donnie was as he pulled her into a tight hug and told her he loved her. She touched a kiss to his cheek; happy he was happy but still bummed at it being spoiled. “Directions to the place I got our food last night.” She shrugged, taking another deep breath. “Best place to get crepe cake near me.”   
Another surprise ruined as Mikey’s face lit up and he shrieked with joy.  
He’d been asking about crepe cakes for the last few weeks, and she’d wanted to get them one for their mutation day cake.

This sparked a quick discussion between the four brothers, excitedly chattering about upcoming plans for their 19th mutation day party, before turning back to her, likely now hoping for more mutation day spoilers and thinking that’s what she was hiding.  
It super wasn’t.  
But only Donnie was aware of that.

“Uhhh…”April turned red again and quickly mumbled, “Howmuchdovaginasstretch.”

Some of the excitement permeating the room faded and Mikey froze, half smile on his face as he asked, “Say what?”

“How much do vaginas stretch.” She clarified in annoyance before flashing a sharp smile of her own.

The three of them looking her way turned red all at once and Casey burst out laughing. Fuckhead. Absolute bastard. She could feel her face burning again.

“I uh, I think that’s enough of that dare.” Leo murmured quietly, Raph nodding enthusiastically as Mikey was typing something into his phone again, also nodding in agreement.

“No way!” Casey protested, “That was only seven and my dare was for ten! C’mon, guys, she’s gotten bullshit truths and dares from all of us all night.”

“Yeah,” Raph agreed, looking uncomfortable again, “But I’m cool with letting this one go. She read most of them.”

“One too many, I’d say.” Donnie mumbled above her, then louder, “Let it go, Casey.”

“Oh, come on!” He groaned petulantly, “I just want her to get to the one about the average size of turtle peni-“ Raph slapped a big hand over Casey’s mouth, and hissed at him to shut the fuck up, then looked her way in discomfort as mortification filled her to the brim.  
Oh yeah.  
She was going to destroy Casey Jones. Shave his head in his sleep, put sugar in his gas tank, poison his food with actual poison levels of destruction.  
Because there was a lot of uncomfortable attention focused on her at this moment and she needed to get away. Immediately. That anxious band around her ribs kept tightening and the last thing she wanted to do was cry in front of them all.

So, she got to her feet, skin prickling at the loss of Donnie’s warmth, and rushed out of the room, heading back to the sanctity of Donnie’s bedroom, her shocked boyfriend hot on her heels, angry voices rising to fill the space they’d left behind.

Opening the door, April groped in the dark for the ladder and climbed up to his loft, piling onto the bed to bury herself alive in blankets. Donnie closed the door behind them, shrouding them in pitch black darkness, and followed, climbing onto the bed as well but keeping his distance while she measured her breaths to fight off a panic attack, just like her dad had taught her.  
She counted in cycles, holding them longer on each cycle.

She felt fragile and afraid and, if he’d touched her in that moment, she absolutely would have broken down.  
Which was the last thing she wanted to spend the evening dealing with.   
She wouldn’t have been able to stand herself if she had.

But after a few minutes in the roaring silence, hearing only her own heartbeat and breaths, only her own scared and worried thoughts, she sighed and mumbled, “Say something.”

“I’m gonna bash some more of his teeth in.” Donnie mumbled back then sighed, “And I hope you being upset is about the very public way I found out you’re curious about my dick and not the curiosity itself.”

April laughed; she couldn’t help herself.  
It had taken all of 24 hours last weekend for her supposedly shy, adorable boyfriend to fully settle into his new role and he’d shrugged off the nerves he’d once had around her like an uncomfortable coat when it had sunk in that she was definitely in love with him, she was serious, and there would be no nervous take backs.   
She wanted him and that was it.  
He’d only been getting bolder since and she loved it.  
Donnie’s shyness and nerves had faded away and now just oozed the same sort of confidence he did when he was working in his lab, completely confident in his movements, and utterly in his element.  
He now considered her fully part of his element.  
Considered her his, just like he was hers.

“I’m definitely still curious. Very curious.” She assured, rolling over to stare at the ceiling in the dark. “After last night, I was so excited about our next steps that I started looking some stuff up. Like, I know you’re not human, but you’re not all turtle either. And I just wanted to, you know, be at least a little prepared.” Her heart was pounding again but this time it was from her confession. 

“Well,” He hummed, shifting on the bed to stretch out near her, near enough that she automatically reached out to find the hand reaching back to her and threading her fingers with his. He pulled until she felt a soft kiss brush over her knuckles, tingles racing up her arm to her chest. “I’m definitely bigger than a human, but I uh…don’t have the turtle proportions. It’s pretty reasonable given my height and build, honestly.”

“We’re still talking about your dick, right?” She teased and he laughed.

“Yeah,” He reached out to grab her around the middle and pull her toward him, letting her turn so she could snuggle in close, “We are.” He leaned in to brush more soft kisses across her face, catching her mouth to kiss her deeply, getting her hot all the way to her toes. Another tiny kiss and he murmured coyly, “You wanna see it?”

“Yes.” She hissed in excitement, “I do, absolutely. Can I? I mean,” She rolled her eyes as Donnie laughed at her expense, not minding given the context, “Look. Before I got here today, I was trying to figure out how to best get us to this point without being pushy or overstepping but after our conversation about going faster being okay…I’d just like to make sure my interest is expressed.”

“Noted.” He murmured, mouth finding hers again, “So, now I have a clear direction of your plans tonight,” He rolled into her, one arm cradling her head, the other working a hand up beneath her shirt and cupping her breast. As always, his hands felt so good on her body. She jerked and sighed when his calloused thumb teased a slow circle around her nipple, “Can I make some suggestions of my own?”

“I dare you.” She gasped at the sharp delight of her nipple being pinched before his mouth closed over hers again.

ADADADADADADADADADADAD

They weren’t gone very long; April was pretty sure.  
Only a half hour at the most, long enough for some discussion and a tiny bit of exploration, but nothing like what they had planned for later on tonight.  
April fingers practically itched to find out exactly what was in store for her.  
Waiting was a sweet kind of torture, however, and she planned to savor her reward.

Casey shot her way the instant he saw her, now sporting two black eyes and a split lip, and he apologized as soon as she got close enough.  
Arms crossed over her chest, she sighed and mumbled that she forgave him but to still expect retribution in the future. She was going to make him suffer for this.  
This time he was the one who seemed a little ill.  
Especially when Donnie grabbed him hard by the shoulder, shook him a little, and with a giant smile on his face, told him to expect hell.

Donnie then led April back to their seats in the tv pit, Casey trudging behind.

Mikey was clanking around in the kitchen, but Leo and Raph offered a few soft asks if she was okay, could something be gotten for her, did she want to skip her turn and they assured she absolutely didn’t have to play anymore if she didn’t want to. But April assured them she was fine and that she’d already taken her turn. “It’s Donnie’s turn now.” She shrugged, leaving the others speechless and nodding in acceptance.

“Leo,” Donnie called, and his eldest brother perked up, ready to act in any way needed to fix anything he could. April always found it endearing just how basically similar the four brothers were. They may have vastly different personalities, strengths, and weaknesses, but their core traits were definitely cut from the same cloth.

“Yeah?” Leo’s deep blue eyes widened a little, unsure but still ready to help.

“Truth or dare?” Donnie smiled sweetly, warm and happy on the inside. April snuggled into him and he curled his arm around her to keep her close.

Caught off guard, Leo and Raph exchanged a confused look that Mikey shared in as he was coming back from the kitchen, tray full of mugs holding something steaming hot and undeniably chocolatey in his hands that he moved to pass out. He paused as Leo finally shrugged, though, and said, “Dare, I guess.”

“I dare you to make Casey say ‘uncle.’”

Casey was heard saying “fuck” as he attempted to bolt, and the blue-banded bringer of vengeance offered a grin full of teeth and said “With pleasure” before shooting after his target.

Casey made it as far as the turnstiles, but Leo caught him on the fly, driving him to the ground in the tunnel behind the entrance so his loud shout of “UNCLE, MAN! FUCK!” could be heard echoing off the tunnel walls.

“Holy shit.” Raph mumbled, shaking his head and accepting a mug from Mikey with a quiet “thank you.”

“Donnie, man,” Mikey laughed, passing mugs out to them as well. And holy shit, he’d managed it, April marveled, stirring and sipping the thick, delicious glory of Italian hot chocolate. He’d made it perfectly, too, because it looked just like the pictures. He grinned, full of joy and pride that it was a success, when she told him so before telling his brother, “I think you won.”

“Trust me, Mikey,” Donnie laughed before sipping from his own mug, Casey still yelling in the tunnel, arm tightening around April to hold her closer and grin down at her. Big and beautiful, she returned it immediately, “I absolutely won.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My editor has been super busy at work and I got tired of sitting on this. 
> 
> Next chapter is drafted and should be posted by this coming Friday...(I hope)


	5. Girls' Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They know how to get her to talk about just about anything, that's for sure...
> 
> But they also offer a lot of advice and maybe an extra dash of insight...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> T/W: mild discussion of non-consensual encounters of a sexual nature, proceed with that in mind.
> 
> Edited by me and I've been staring at this thing off and on for four days so if there're mistakes... *shrug*

“Well?”

“Well?”

“Well?”

“Well?”

Staring at the two beautiful, wide-eyed, eager-faced women across her kitchen table, both on their feet and leaning over the two enormous custom (read: expensive) sushi platters they’d brought along with them as a bribe, April just smiled. “Well, what?”

After two hours of catching up and laughing over the game from this past weekend that they’d had to miss for business, both having gasped for breath, doubled over and wheezing about Leo beating the shit out of Casey, they’d finally chosen their moment and decided to strike.

April merely picked up another unagi nigiri and popped it into her mouth, savoring the soft, faintly sweet meat and the sharp tang of the rice. Yummy.

“You are KILLING my good mood, O’Neil.” Karai grumbled, shooting a look to Shinigami as they both fell back into their chairs, picking up a piece of toro norimaki into her mouth. “I mean, you finally got under Donatello’s shell, right? Spill.”

It was a weeknight, sure, but girl’s nights together ended up being few and far between recently due to whatever the hell the two of them had going on in Japan (which was intensely illegal and sounded like a lot of fun). So, here they sat around the table, all in their pajamas with plans to watch a movie later. But now…these two demanded details.

And April was rife with details…

Just the memory had her shivering subconsciously, which both of her friends saw, causing them to grin like wicked cats.

“Big,” as Donnie had described it, had been an entire understatement, she was pretty sure. “Big” had been a starting point and when she’d watched him drop down from behind his lower scutes, she’d felt herself gulp and shakily breathe out, absolutely entranced by him, heat curling in her chest and pooling downward into the cradle of her hips.   
She could easily picture the way his eyelids had dropped to half mast, the way he’d sighed her name as she’d moved in closer to wrap her hands around him...

“Little Bird,” Shini cooed, reaching out to tap April’s nose, “You’re blushing.”

Karai snorted, dark eyes narrowing playfully, “She’s practically drooling, so whatever he’s got must be really good.”

Unable to help bragging (just a little), she sighed, “He’s perfect.” And picked up one of the pieces from a custom roll they’d ordered for her, something topped with crunchy tobiko. Perfect in every way, especially when he’d gritted his teeth around her name the second before she’d brought him over the edge only for him to then grab her by the face and yank her in for a scorching hot kiss she’d melted into before crawling into his lap where he’d proceeded to peel her out of her clothes.

“Perfect, hm?” Shini purred, sitting back with a wistful sigh, running her hands down her sleek, high ponytail, twirling her fingers in it absently before gathering it up to twist it into an artfully messy bun. “I could use some of that. Most of the men I’ve met recently have fallen far short of such a thing.” She paused and seemed to consider, then shrugged, “With one or two notable exceptions, I suppose.”

“Michelangelo is still single, as far as I know.” Karai smirked, flipping her bangs from her face. She’d grown out the undercut she’d had for years (“Finally ready to move on” as she’d put it), and now she had a sporty layered bob, half of which was dyed a nice Hamato red. It almost made April want to do something new with her own hair; the longest it’d ever been, but pretty boring (other than the color, she supposed). But what to do was the question considering how much Donnie loved running his fingers through it. “And it’s likely hereditary,” Karai continued, shrugging and reaching for another nigiri piece, “Because I can definitely vouch that Leonardo is also quite the example of perfection.”

April choked two seconds after biting into a scallop temaki, dropping it, and coughing to clear her airway as Shinigami hissed out a reproachful, “Sempai!!”

Finally managing to swallow, April and Shini locked eyes, both questioning the other silently as to who knew. Apparently, the answer was neither. Karai, smirking at their shared looks of shocked disbelief, let out a little laugh and pushed to her feet to grab a bottle of tea from the fridge, clad in a tiny goth Hello Kitty pajama set. Finally, she just grinned, apparently happy and relieved to be able to tell them.

“What??” April was just stunned, “I can’t…I couldn’t even feel that you were hiding something!! How long??”

“Oh, come on, O’Neil,” Karai purred, cracking the bottle of tea open to pour each of them a drink before April took it from her to pour her one as well; and both girls smiled at her finally having mastered at least a bit of proper table manners. Taking a sip, she popped a piece of norimaki into her mouth and continued, “Leonardo and I have been dancing around each other nearly as long as you’ve been dancing around Donatello. Who was never dancing, “She added, pointing her way with a stern look, “He was always 100% in it to win it with you.” April blushed because yeah, she knew. She’d spent the longest time berating herself for that exact thing. This was followed by a shrug, “I just made my move first.” She laughed to herself and made a face when Shini gave her a playful push.

But April…hadn’t known anything about this. 

She’d had absolutely no clue.

And that…sort of bothered her. Not the two of them getting together or being together, but that she’d only now been told.

Had she been that disconnected as a friend?

“For how long?” She murmured, repeating herself softly, drawing a cautious, closed look from her lovely friend.

“Maybe off and on since around Spring of last year?” Karai considered, watching her for reactions, “We aren’t together or anything, but…I don’t know, maybe I’ll step up soon and see if he’s interested.” Her smile had completely dropped now, and she waited, readying to respond to anything.

She was clearly expecting something negative, April could feel her caution and worry, but all she could focus on was the fact that, “I didn’t know.” She mumbled, “He…do the others know?” Did Donnie know? And just never told her? But why wouldn’t he tell her? They told each other everything, always had. Even…when she’d been making really stupid decisions.

“I’m not sure.” Karai shrugged, “If they do, they’ve never said as much to me. Likely for safety reasons.” She snorted, then leaned in over the table, propping her chin on her elbow to murmur, “What is it that bothers you? That we had sex or…what?”

“I’m upset that you didn’t tell me.” Shini muttered, reaching for Karai’s favorite dynamite shrimp temaki as revenge. Which she clearly stated as she bit into it with relish, earning a sharp glare. “So, I can imagine that our little bird feels much the same.”

“Sort of?” April mumbled, picking her own yummy temaki back up to bite back into, “I just…I want to believe that if he’d known, Donnie would have told me. Or Leo. He’s not the type to keep this kind of thing to himself.” But especially Donnie. Not even a peep, though. Mouth filled with savory scallops, she watched Karai consider then nod.

“He is charmingly excitable.” She smiled softly to herself, such a soft and warm expression rarely shown that highlighted how pretty she was. Not just lethally gorgeous, but a sweet sort of lovely. She then mumbled, “Maybe, if Donatello did know, he didn’t tell you because he didn’t want you to feel pressured. After all, he’s been in love with you for years, but you’ve settled on your feelings far more recently.”

And that…was true. She wondered what she would have possibly thought if Donnie had come to her to tell her that Leo and Karai had finally hooked up. Would she have felt pressured or upset or embarrassed? Would he? Would knowing have changed anything between the two of them? Expediated things maybe? Thinking about it had her face hot and her head spinning.

“So, what is he like?” Shini murmured, teasing as she leaned in close, close enough to rest her chin on Karai’s shoulder, “What is Leonardo-san like to have you considering settling down, Sempai?”

Her response was a laugh and a purring soft, “He’s the cutest. Our first time, he kept panicking because he was terrified that he’d hurt me.”

April chuckled herself then, trying desperately not to picture her two friends going at it despite the soft, lovey-dovey feeling leaking off Karai to float around her. Really, how had she missed this? She was such an oblivious moron. “Well,” She tried awkwardly, “If he’s like Donnie…the size…” 

Karai’s head jerked her way, eyes narrowed like a tiger who smelled blood on the air. Shini had a mouthful of rice and fish but she looked just as predatory as her own dark eyes cut in April’s direction, “Have you two…”

“Ah. Not yet.” She blushed deeply, a throb hitting her low in her body at the thought of it. Probably soon, though, probably definitely soon.

After all, she’d spent a lot of Saturday on the cot in the med bay of Donnie’s lab, her legs draped over his shoulders, his hands gripping her hips, him counting how many orgasms he could get out of her between centrifuge revelations and her doing her best to muffle what would have been very loud screams of his name.  
More heat flashed through her at the memory, intensifying the throbbing feeling between her legs.  
Definitely soon.

“You’re blushing again.” Karai hummed.

“Truly a pretty little red bird.” Shini purred.

April threw her hands up, face burning, “Yeah?? I had an eventful weekend, okay??”

“And last night?” Shini pressed, picking up pieces of pickled ginger to pop into her mouth and crunch on as Karai cocked an eyebrow, biting into a temaki of her own, but clearly invested in the answer.

“We have a standing date night on Tuesdays and Thursdays.” April muttered, scooping up her tea to stall through a drink. Of course, he’d been over. And as soon as he’d come through her window, she’d backed him onto her bed and coaxed him out to go down on him, having been dying to get her hands back on him since she’d left for classes Monday morning. He’d laughed at first, joking that she should work on her homework before they played, but then he’d just groaned her name as his big fingers slid into her hair.

She could almost taste him now, could almost feel him on her tongue: warm, slick, and slightly musky.   
Her blush deepened and she bit her lip as the hot throb between her legs grew even more before gasping as someone snapped in front of her face.

“So, Sempai,” Shini murmured, faux nonchalantly, black glitter polish sparkling on the fingers reaching to brush a wisp of hair behind April’s ear, “How big is Leonardo-san?” 

April’s blush intensified as Karai shrugged, “Big enough, the biggest I’ve ever been with.” She picked the unagi off the top of a few nigiri and popped it into her mouth.

Curious, so curious, and with this chance to get some real, firsthand knowledge, April took a deep breath to brace herself and mumbled, “And…does it hurt?” Both of them jerked their heads her way, eyes wide and shocked, and April burned with embarrassment, but still, wanting to be at least a little prepared, she cleared her throat and clarified, “The first time…?”

Karai and Shinigami stared at her for a moment, looked to each other, then turned back to her, then Shinigami softly asked, “You’ve never…?”

April shook her head and broke eye contact, their feelings of surprise, wonder, and concern washing over her; taking a few deep breaths, she focused on the cat faces on her pajama shorts. 

“Have you ever…used anything?” Karai reached out to cup her jaw and lift her face back up, catching her gaze. There was so much kindness there that April soaked it in. An unusual emotion from these particular friends, but the sincerity of it was so warm and heartening. “Your fingers?” She gently clarified, “Toys? Has…Donatello used his fingers?”

“He does have big fingers,” Shini hummed, chin perched on her hands, “They all do.”

That was certainly true. April nodded, agreeing with that assessment.

Last night…after finishing her homework and having Donnie check over the paper she was working on, they’d stripped her out of her leggings and panties so Donnie could lay her back on the bed and bury his face between her thighs.   
But this time, after that first glorious orgasm, he’d slipped a finger up to the crux of her thighs and after a quick confirmation that it was okay, slid it along her slick opening before slowly pressing it inside.   
And it took a little bit of time at first because yeah, it was big, and she’d never been stretched like that before so there had been a slight ache and a mild burning, but he went slow and soon it had felt good. Then he’d leaned in to close his mouth over her clit. Which made it feel really good.  
And when he’d crooked that little come hither motion…  
April was pretty sure she saw god.

“Oh, ho ho…” Shini chuckled, leaning close to look deep into her eyes, her eyes like dark jewels staring deep into hers as if she could see April’s memories. And maybe she could. Half of Shini’s powers were still a cautiously trusted unknown. “So, you do have some experience.”

“A little.” She agreed, glancing over to Karai, who was smiling still, though with a little less kindness and a bit more deviance, “But he’s…a lot bigger than his fingers.”

“Oh, most certainly.” Karai nodded, “And he’ll be your first. So…” She trailed off and glanced to Shini who looked her way in turn. They shrugged, frowned, made waffle-y motions with their hands, then Shini made a face of distaste.

April winced, “Oh, that does not bode well.” 

And that earned some laughter.

“Experiences may vary.” Karai laughed, running a hand through her hair and mussing it up a bit.

“But it will likely hurt a bit,” Shini added, “At least at first.”

“Oh, definitely, especially considering what you’ll be facing, O’Neil. But take my word for it, it is extremely worth it because once your body adjusts to the size, holy fuck does it feel like the best thing you’ve ever experienced in your life.”

Which was exactly what April wanted to hear. She could deal with pain so long as the reward would be worthwhile. And Donnie was 1000% worthwhile.

And besides that,” Shini murmured wistfully, a film of sadness shading over her emotions, “Your first time will be with someone you love. Someone who loves you more than anything and will be doing everything he can to make sure you’re as comfortable as possible. Trust me, Little Bird, that love will make all the difference.” She glanced toward Karai, whose emotions were now clouded with anger. A dense, well knitted blanket of anger that coated everything else.

And there, quietly, in the private space of her kitchen, April ventured carefully, “Did you two not-“

“No.” Karai bit out, expression drawn and hard. “No, we did not.”

Shini bit her lip, glanced to her best friend, varying degrees of agony bleeding off the two of them and curling a hand around Karai’s arm to ground them both before sighing, “We were kunoichi of the Foot Clan, April. Our first times were…chosen for us.”

“Stolen from us.” Karai hissed then, closed her mouth so hard her teeth clacked together.

April reached across the table, nudging the sushi trays out of the way to take each of their hands in hers and squeeze. Both were leeching fear and concern and anger. Both gripped and held fast to her hands, glad and relieved on some level she couldn’t fathom. 

“You didn’t deserve that.” She stated firmly, “Neither of you. I’d kill that bastard all over again if I could, just for doing that to you.”

Karai smiled, small at first then bigger, and she heaved a deep sigh to get her emotions back under control, “It is what it is, I suppose.” She shook herself out, shaking the others off and resettling, “Besides, it’s all much better now.”

“So much better.” Shini echoed then clapped her hands together, “All right, enough sadness. I’m done eating and want to watch April’s French movie.” Karai and April shared a look at the sudden subject change, then shrugged as both of their appetites were firmly gone. She snorted, “The movie is cute and some cute would be nice right now.”

They all rose to pack away the rest of the sushi, piling everything onto one platter and covering it to stick in the fridge where Casey would inevitably find it.

“Michelangelo’s cute.” Karai cooed playfully, dumping the dishes into the sink and earning a glare.

“Enough, Sempai.”

April paused while putting the tea away to turn back to them, having clearly missed something else. She crossed her arms at that and waited until both of them noticed her and turned her way, “What else don’t I know?”

It was no secret Mikey liked Shinigami. He’d shown interest off and on a few times but whoever Renet was tended to hold his interest just as often. Something about time travel and dimension hopping and blah blah blah she’d asked once but never again because as much as she loved listening to Donnie talk, it had all been far too confusing.

But Shini…her interest wasn’t held by anything for very long. She was too much like a cat in that way.

Now, mildly uncomfortable but also resigned and a little bit excited, she muttered, “Perhaps whatever you two have concerning turtles is catching but…” And offered a half smile and a shrug.

April laughed at Karai’s loud snort, then crept close to purr herself, “You like Mikey.”

“He’s cute.” She shrugged, far less nonchalantly than she had before, “And he’s funny and fun.”

“And she likes him.” Karai confirmed.

She was told to shut up but laughed it off as they headed for the living room to collapse onto the sofa and turn on Casey’s game system to flip to the Netflix app and pull up Amelie.

The three of them made it as far as the first sex shoppe scene before a long day and an emotional discussion caught up to them.

ADADADADADADADADAD

When Casey got home at 1 am, he grinned at the three of them piled together on the sofa with Red’s favorite movie waiting to be played. Or replayed, knowing her.

Pulling blankets from the linen closet, he covered them all, leaned Karai’s shoulders back so she didn’t wake up with a sore neck, turned his system and the tv off, and headed to the kitchen for a snack.

Where he discovered an entire platter of sushi in the fridge.

Now, Casey Jones was no fool. He’d lived with April long enough to know how these three operated. This was a bribe. Something had gone down, some kind of information exchange had happened, and Casey Jones could almost smell it. 

With a laugh to himself, he tugged the tray out to pop the cover off and pop a few pieces into his mouth. Sushi and maybe a chance at some blackmail, not a bad end to the night.   
An awesome end for him, since he needed a favor from his oh so very understanding and accepting roommate and she was still pissed at him over truth or dare.

Welp. Time to do what Casey Jones did best.

**Author's Note:**

> "You don't fall in love with a body, you fall in love with a soul. And once in love with a soul, everything about that body becomes beautiful."  
> A.B.


End file.
